Rapid detection of methicillin-resistant staphylococci by multiplex PCR

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive method for excluding the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical samples was developed. The combination of MRSA detection by mecA coaA PCR with prior enrichment in selective broth was tested for 300 swabs. PCR identified 26 MRSApositive samples, in  concordance with conventional methods.

Key words: Staphylococcus aureus, swabs, mecA coaA.